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Questions and assistance
Questions and Assistance (Also known as Q&A or QnA) is the forum for general GAIA Online related questions and assistance. In this review will be a run-down of some general details and some information on how to 'Q&A' so to say. Subforums Tree * Bug Reports & Technical Support - Primary subforum for all Bugs and Glitches to be reported in. * Avatar System 3.0 Q&F - Avatar System related issues/feedback belong here. * Gaia Guides and Resources - A collection of resources and information related to GAIA Online Q&A General Info The following is information from Q&A (Guidelines, Tips, Common Information, etc) Rules and Guidelines :The R&G for Q&A can be read by Clicking here. :The following lines are some of the more commonly broken rules which users should know. * Bumping :Threads on the first page do not require bumping, and this forum can move more slowly than others. Please only bump if your question or request for assistance has gone unanswered and fallen off the first page of the forum. Excessive bumps may be deleted. * Check existing topics first! :Most problems affect more than a single user. Try to look over at least the threads on the first page of the forum to see if someone else is experiencing the same difficulty as you before you create a new topic. * If you're trying to help, be helpful! :If you're just going to say "I have no idea," or "Don't know! That's weird!" it's better to not post and let someone post who does have an idea or knows and recognizes the problem. If you have information you think may be of use but you're not certain it's correct, it's also nice to let us know that you're not certain of the information. Do's and Don'ts * Q&A Regulars != 'Authority :Take note of the thing I've noticed really is the biggest concern of those trying to help in the forum. :You are NOT a staff member, when people post problems such as "My signature got disabled, I don't think it was wrong" ... it is NOT the job of those helping answer in the questions to determine if it was right or wrong, do not post saying "Well maybe if you post/PM it to me I can tell you", we as users in the Q&A are not qualified or authorized to make such decisions. It's also seen as rude to do so. What if other users had the same question? They may want to look at threads that are describing the issue they're having. Answering questions in private messages disallows this to happen, post your answers in the Q&A. That is the purpose of the forum. This goes exactly the same in most cases if a user posts their signature and asks if it's fine (minus checking file size and total width/height which any user is easily capable of doing). Most of the time signatures need to be officially declared as good/bad by a moderator, however sometimes there are just those very easy to decide ones which yes we CAN actually state would be good/bad. for the sake of all, if it really is a ToS violating content they want to put in their signature, make sure to always remind them to remove it from their post :) * 'Well I don't know...' :As stated in the forum rules, and sadly it's done so much I feel the need to note it here too, just simply don't do this. :The most annoying thing you can do is post and just go "Well I don't know" or "Ummm, maybe it's..." and so on. Unless you are at least 90-95% SURE on your reply being accurate, don't post at all, there is no reason for it. Basically, if you just post something that's totally off-topic and non-useful, you're liable to eventually get in trouble for it. :(It is against the rules according to the forum rules and guidelines of Q&A): :"If you do not have anything to say that will help resolve the thread, then don't post. If you are just going to say something like "I don't know" or "hopefully someone knows" or "that's interesting/weird", etc., then you should not be posting and can receive warnings for it." * First to post :Honestly... this isn't a race; you won't win a darned thing if you get first post. You won't get recognized any quicker, you will however raise chances of you posting wrong information if you try to rush things :) Q&A is not a race, it's not meant to be. If you want to reply to something, make sure you give it effort and make sure you take your time, word it as best as you can and be as accurate as you can. If you do that then you will find all in all you probably just provided the best answer, even if it wasn't the first post. * Good Grammar :Luckily, this really isn't a huge problem are some people sometimes whom come in and try and answer questions for a bit and their grammar is just horrendous o_o, but I of course feel the need to point this out. :This really goes for those asking for and giving assistance, as the better the grammar/spelling, the more likely someone is going to be able to more quickly understand your question/reply and such. *'Asking for payment when answering questions' : This is generally seen as a no-no in Q&A. If you want to be paid for offering your services, please make a thread in the Services subforum of Minishops. Q&A is run by volunteers who help for free. *'Misplaced threads' : According to Q&A's Forum Rules and Guidelines, helpers are encouraged to report misplaced threads rather than posting in them just to inform the person that it doesn't belong in Q&A: : "Members will post threads that don't belong in this forum or threads that should be removed due to being inappropriate. DO NOT POST IN A THREAD SOLELY TO SAY THAT IT IS MISPLACING/VIOLATING THE RULES. Report it and let us explain why they should not have posted it in Q&A. Remember: posting in it will just move it to the top of the forum where it will continue staying visible." : : Common Questions/Replies *'I was reported, is this PM real?' : Unfortunately, this seems to be one of the most common questions asked in Q&A. Generally, the person asking the question will have received a password phishing PM from another user. One of the best responses would be to state: "Gaia staff will NEVER ask for your password, please report the PM as password phishing". It also would be helpful to link the person to the sticky that happens to address this issue in Q&A: : How How to spot --Staff Impersonation-- : If the person has given them the password, instruct them to change their password IMMEDIATELY. *'I was hacked, help!' : Sadly, some people unfortunately get fooled by phishers, or they may have picked up nasty spyware that has allowed someone to breach their account. Please do not antagonize/berate the person if they gave away their password, not only may it be seen as unhelpful but it could also be seen as unkind. Direct them to the hacking report form (if the hacking was within 30 days) which can be found at the bottom of Gaia's forum index. Be sure to tell them to include as much information as possible and to fill in ALL of the boxes provided or the report will not send. It would also help if you reminded the person to keep their reference number. This is due to the fact that it allows a moderator to check their report status much faster. Do not tell the person to contact a moderator for help with their hacking; a moderator will only direct them to the hacking report form. * There's a pop-up asking for my password in a thread/profile! : These sneaky pop-ups are usually triggered by someone's post/signature/comment. Inform the person to report whatever page the pop-up's appearing on to a moderator via PM. Alternatively, they can report the thread and then state what page the pop-up's appearing on in the "Additional Information" space provided in the report form. Profiles that have pop-ups should be reported to a moderator, once again through a PM. If the pop-up is on the person's profile, they are given the ability to utilize the "safe comments" link. This'll then make it easier to see which comment is triggering the pop-up so that it can be reported. External Links * Questions and Assistance Forum * Questions and Assistance Moderators * Q&A Rules and Guidelines * GAIA Problems Sticky * Lanzer's Work Diary/Journal Category: Gaia Forums